Who Will Remember Pipes a Century from Now?

[Chasing Embers]

Some family came in this weekend for an early Labor Day get together as daily schedules and work prevented such things the day thereof. All went well, cookout, passing the pigskin, seeing family's new babies, but something happened that struck me. Now, fifty years ago people would smoke pipes in hospitals, their office cubicals, and there are even photographs from NASA during the moon landing of scientists, and ground control with a pipe in their jaw. One hundred years ago, you see yellowing, sepia photographs of gentlemen proudly holding their pipes in hand. The event that occurred today, was a seven year old nephew inquiring what I had in my mouth after dinner. I told him it was a pipe, and that you smoked tobacco in it, and that did little to soothe his look of bewilderment. He did say that it smelled better than his parents' cigarette smoke, but he had no idea what a pipe was. Fifty years from now, will there still be those enjoying a warm pipe in their hand? Will people a century from now pick up a pipe and wander what the little wooden curiosity was ever used for?

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I think it will still hold a strong memory, and I'm sure there will still be pipe smokers. Maybe not as many as now, perhaps not as many as years back, but then you never know. Even despite the FDA BS going on right now, it seems to be gaining in popularity again. Perhaps it will grow to be stronger than ever. Often times, if something is frowned upon (as it is by the FDA right now)that something just grows more popular. Remember... when rock and roll hit the scene it might as well have been the devil. In the 60's it was even more of the devil. In the 70's it was the great big mean devil but still better than disco. In the 80's the devil grew up and was a sex crazed druggy Satan worshiping devil (what?) The 90's don't count so we'll skip it... and then in 2000 and beyond to now, rock and roll is Satan's big daddy, Lucifer. But more people love rock and roll because more people think it's the devil. So according to the FDA, pipes are the devil, apparently. So it can only get bigger.... and I have no earthly idea where I'm going with this, it's 2:49 in the morning, and I should be sleeping yesterday.

 

[dottiewarden]

About a year ago I was sitting in the park enjoying a smoke on my pipe when a kid comes up to me and blurts out in confused awe, "People still smoke those things?"
However, I do believe this age-old ritual will continue, at least for a few more centuries; if not it would be a tragic loss for mankind.
Our species has enjoyed the sacred tobacco leaf since time immemorial, not to mention its contribution to the building of America.
Gentlemen, raise your pipes to the tradition!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Gentlemen, raise your pipes to the tradition!

Amen

 

[jitterbugdude]

They will probably become ancient history. When was the last time you saw a spittoon anywhere? Chewing tobacco was the absolute most popular way to consume tobacco. With it's demise so went the spittoon. And lets not forget more and more insurance companies test for nicotine so why would people want to pay more for their insurance because they get dubbed as a smoker?

 

[pagan]

I hate to admit but pipe smokers are a dying bread, but as long as there are those curious 7 year old nephews the outlook is optimistic.

 

[randelli]

Pretty sure I won't...

 

[voorhees]

I smoke in public as much as possible. Trying to imprint the image in people's minds for years to come. It's all I can do.

 

[jerwynn]

As the Buddha once said(highly paraphrased): "The only constant in life is change". I can think of thousands examples of things that were considered necessities to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in civilizations long gone by... hmmmmmmm... let me grab a pipe and start writing them down!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

50 years from now, I will be rotting in the cold, cold ground, and I could care less what the people on this planet do. As far as memories of me that live on, I hope that my pipe is just a side note. If forgotten, so be it. I'd much rather have people remember me for the things that I made, the things that I did, and hopefully for the positive affect that I had. Me smoking... that was just one of the few things that I do (did) out of pure selfishness, my one vice, so to speak.

Honestly though, I think that tobacco will go the way of the dodo bird, eventually. I would really really be shocked if I took a peak in and people were still smoking anything. I might even be a little disappointed if they were.

 

[iamn8]

People have been smoking since... the invention of fire. To believe we are now so evolved that all smoking ceases.... I doubt it. It'll ebb and flow, becoming rare and eventually becoming common again as society evolves and then devolves again.

 

[carver]

It does seem like it's a fading trend. Let's consider this, how many of the new smoker, maybe even the older ones, have started the pipe because they reminisced their elders smoking it. Less people smoking it, less reminiscing, less future smokers.

On the other hand, many new smokers have started in these recent years because they're intrigued, because, they don't like the evolution of the world and smoking the pipe is a sort of "rebellious" act to show that "before it was better" ...

Should we push it forward, try to convince more people ? we can't do ads but we can definitely share :wink:

but seriously, what do I know ?

I know that I smoke now, I enjoy it.

:puffpipe:

 

[philobeddoe]

Jitterbugdude, I know chewing tobacco has fallen off in metropolitan areas, however...in rural areas it's as big as ever. I'd say at least one in every three adult men out here in the boonies likely chew, dip, snus, etc.. There are no more spittoons for sure, but you can see nasty tobacco spit filled Mountain Dew bottles aplenty! As for the future of pipe smoking, it will carry on, but in much reduced numbers, this FDA deeming act is accelerating the decline even more. Unfortunately more and more B&M's will close, due to lower sales from Internet competition and more cumbersome rules and regulations from the FDA. Less B&M's equals less new smokers....it's that simple. There will still be the odd fellow who will go to the trouble of taking up the pipe, but the less a thing (object or activity) is seen, the less it is remembered and practiced.

 

[crazypipe]

Yes me ::

 

[virginiacob]

Trying to see into the future and know what will be socially acceptable or not is hard to judge. The thing about smoking is that mankind has been smoking since ancient times. The Native Americans began cultivating tobacco in the Andes mountains over 7,000 years ago. 2,000 years ago the ancient Egyptians were smoking pipes, just not tobacco. We tend to think that anti-smoking campaigns and the spread of the health risks of smoking tobacco is a modern phenomenon, but actually tobacco smoking has always had its detractors:
Have you not reason then to bee ashamed, and to forbeare this filthie noveltie, so basely grounded, so foolishly received and so grossely mistaken in the right use thereof? In your abuse thereof sinning against God, harming your selves both in persons and goods, and raking also thereby the markes and notes of vanitie upon you: by the custome thereof making your selves to be wondered at by all forraine civil Nations, and by all strangers that come among you, to be scorned and contemned. A custome lothsome to the eye, hatefull to the Nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the Lungs, and in the blacke stinking fume thereof, neerest resembling the horrible Stigian smoke of the pit that is bottomelesse. — King James I of England, 1604
However, even King James wasn't able to stomp it out and like some many governments since, learned that there was revenue that could be generated taxing this "wicked" leaf.
It's hard to say how people will view pipe smoking in the future. Humanity seems to ebb and flow over the decades and as such the popularity of certain hobbies and habits change with them. With the advent of the cigarette, especially with its rise in popularity after World War I, pipe smoking ceased to be the primary means by which people enjoyed smoking tobacco. Yet, today (FDA aside), we probably enjoy far more blends and varieties of smoking pipes, than our granddads did back in the 1930's thru the 50's.
What will the future hold, perhaps in another 50 years advances in medicine will come up with the magic pill that "cures all cancers" and without such a risk being hung as an albatross around the neck of tobacco smokers, then more folks may more readily partake in the pleasures of pipe smoking without any of the perceived health risks. Or society may evolve to become more "libertarian" and we move away from our current regulatory "nanny state" overreach. Only time will tell. Until then, I will continue to enjoy my pipes and tobacco.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Hey, it's good to see you again, virginiacob.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yes, hello! Great quote of King Jimmie. I'd like to see that admonition on the FDA warning labels!

 

[virginiacob]

Thanks Cosmic. I've been around, just been rather busy and haven't had as much time to post as I did in the past. I'm going to try and start making the time though.

 

[rfernand]

The hobby is demonstrably on the rise...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The hobby is demonstrably on the rise...

And, as with all things that get admonished, the FDA will inject even more life into the hobby. Just look at how vaping took off when the news started running articles on how dangerous they are. Look at how the church helped Harry potter become number 1 best sellers, rock and roll, porn... anything that gets labelled as banned, forbidden, or dangerous sky rockets in popularity. It happens EVERY SINGLE time.
The best that we can hope for is to have smoking banned entirely. That would give us absolute freedom to grow in outrageous proportions underground.
And, I've said it a million times... legalizing pot is going to hurt that industry way more than help it. It was better off in the closet.